A PROGRAM on how to teach about sustainability at an early childhood level developed by Dr Nadine McCrea, an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at UNE has received a top honour.
Associate Professor McCrea described her SPROuts Practice Award from the NSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network as rewarding recognition.
SPROuts is short for Sustainable Projects Recognising Outstanding Practice and Dr McCrea’s Award was the first ever presented to an individual.
The award recognises Dr McCrea’s efforts organising the New England Children’s Services Eco-mentoring Network.
Her work included a series of events, attended by more than 70 representatives of early childhood services from throughout the New England North West, plus staff from UNE and TAFE New England Institute. These were staged with the assistance of the local branch of Early Childhood Australia.
“The early childcare centres I brought together shared what they were doing, in terms of sustainability. So I established a network through which they were sharing ideas and mentoring each other,” Dr McCrea said.
“This award highlights how environment, equity and economic aspects of sustainability can be embedded into early childhood education.”
According to Dr McCrea, children’s physical activity, knowledge of everyday life and access to creative literature can intertwine with edible gardening experiences. These can also include touching-on advertising, purchasing and packaging.
“Teaching sustainability practices and an appreciation for the environment at a young age is not a new thing,” she said.
“Rather, it’s a return to age-old values.
“We’re helping children to establish positive life habits at an early age, rather than trying to affect change later on, in terms of caring for themselves, others and the world they live in,” she said.
“We are talking about three-to-five-year-olds being their own sustainable lifestyle advocates. It’s not about scaring them by saying the world will disappear if they don’t do something.”
Dr McCrea hopes her award highlights the importance of early childhood education both at UNE and at other universities.
She is planning a follow-up workshop for the region’s early childhood educators, to be held in mid-2014, using prizemoney from her SPROuts Award.
